| Jiddo
Schaaf, Tahmoor, NSW
Writing desk
Silky oak
1045 x 600 x 760mm
The material
for my writing desk, silky oak (Grevillea
robusta), was salvaged from a building
lot near my house. The tree was destined
to become firewood (what a waste) but
was given to my father and I when we told
them we were into fine furniture and woodturning.
The timber was cut into boards on the
bandsaw at home and left to dry for a
couple of years.
The limited amount of material restricted
the size of the table and how it was constructed.
The top and sides are veneered; the top
onto HMR chipboard with false hoop pine
lippings, the sides onto Russian birch
ply. The drawer bottoms are made from
silky oak from an old cabinet which was
giving to me by a family acquaintance.
The carcase bottoms are made from wheel
tree (white bull oak) which were suffering
the ill effects of long storage, blue
stain and pin-hole borer, and the useable
parts needed to be used up. Some of the
longer sections in the carcase are veneered
wheel tree as I just didn’t have
enough material.
The table has been constructed in the
traditional method using a combination
of mortise and tenons, dovetails and rebates
with the joints cut by both hand and machine.
The dovetails on the drawers are hand
cut. Rock maple has been inlayed into
the carcase and laminated onto the bottom
of the drawers as a harder wearing surface
for the draws to run on.
Selleys Aquadhere PVA has been used throughout
the table, except for the veneers which
were glued with polyurethane (Kleiberit
501.6). Finished in clear shellac and
wax (Ubeaut Traditional Cabinet makers
natural wax).
The table was made as part of my degree
at the ANU School of Art. The brief stated
we needed to make a ‘working surface
with a drawer’. I found the exercise
was more about how far you can stretch
a piece of wood rather than carcase and
drawer construction. Designed for occasional
use with just enough space for a few pieces
of paper and a laptop, with its straight
line design it will sink into the background
when not in use. Visual appeal comes from
the grain of the timber rather than the
design, by doing this the table will fit
more readily into any décor.
Full technical drawings have been made
to assist in reproduction and improvements
on the design.
Photos: Arno Schaaf
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